Coolant Supply Device

Abstract

To provide a coolant supply device capable of adjusting concentration of a coolant on a cutting machine side to target concentration, if concentration of the coolant on the cutting machine side is higher or lower than the target concentration.SOLUTION: A coolant supply device 1 supplying coolant to coolant tanks 3 of cutting machines 2 (2-1 to 2-4) comprises: a high concentration coolant tank 12 storing coolant with concentration higher than target concentration required for the cutting machines 2; a low concentration coolant tank 14 storing the coolant with concentration lower than the target concentration; and supply control means controlling supply of the high concentration coolant and / or low concentration coolant to the coolant tanks 3 of the cutting machines 2 so that the concentration of the coolant in the coolant tanks 3 in the cutting machines 2 becomes the target concentration.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a coolant supply device that supplies coolant to a coolant tank of a cutting machine. [Background technology]

[0002] In a cutting machine, when cutting a workpiece, it is essential to supply coolant to the cutting area to cool the workpiece against heat generation and to reduce cutting resistance. The coolant must be controlled at an appropriate concentration determined based on the material of the workpiece and processing conditions such as the tools used. For example, when a water-soluble cutting fluid is used as the coolant, as described in Patent Document 1 below, the original cutting fluid and water are supplied to a coolant storage tank and the coolant in the storage tank is adjusted to an appropriate concentration.

[0003] Incidentally, when multiple cutting machines are installed in a factory or the like, a coolant supplying device that supplies coolant to each cutting machine is connected, and coolant maintained at an appropriate concentration is automatically replenished from the coolant supplying device to each cutting machine. However, cutting machines require a variety of coolant concentrations (target concentrations). If the coolant supply device has a single coolant storage tank, it can only supply either high or low concentration coolant to the cutting machine side, and depending on the combination of the concentration of the coolant supplied from the coolant supply device and the concentration of the coolant on the cutting machine side, it may not be possible to adjust the coolant on the cutting machine side to the target concentration. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5667230 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made against the background described above, and aims to provide a coolant supply device that can adjust the concentration of coolant on the cutting machine side to a target concentration, regardless of whether the concentration of coolant on the cutting machine side is higher or lower than the target concentration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of extensive investigations aimed at solving the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have arrived at the present invention as described below. That is, the coolant supply device of the present invention is A device for supplying coolant to a coolant tank of a cutting machine, comprising: a high concentration coolant tank for storing a coolant having a higher concentration than a target concentration of the coolant required by the cutting machine; a low concentration coolant tank that stores a coolant having a lower concentration than the target concentration; a supply control means for controlling the supply of high concentration coolant and / or low concentration coolant to the coolant tank of the cutting machine so that the coolant in the coolant tank of the cutting machine reaches the target concentration; The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with:

[0007] According to the present invention, two types of coolant with different concentrations, specifically, a coolant with a higher concentration than the target concentration required by the cutting machine and a coolant with a lower concentration than the target concentration, can be supplied to the cutting machine. Therefore, whether the concentration of the coolant on the cutting machine side is higher or lower than the target concentration, the coolant on the cutting machine side can be adjusted to the target concentration.

[0008] In the present invention, a plurality of cutting machines to which the coolant is to be supplied can be connected.

[0009] In addition, the present invention can be configured to include a mixing section that adjusts the high concentration coolant and the low concentration coolant from the stock cutting fluid and water. In this way, the concentrations of the high concentration coolant and the low concentration coolant supplied to the cutting machine can be easily changed according to the target concentration of the coolant used in the cutting machine. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a coolant supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention connected to a cutting machine; [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a high-concentration coolant tank and a low-concentration coolant tank shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electrical system of the coolant supply device. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a coolant supplying operation in the coolant supplying device. [Diagram 5] 5 is a modified example of the flowchart of FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart showing a coolant supply operation different from that shown in FIGS. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the coolant supply device. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Next, a coolant supplying device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the coolant supplying device according to this embodiment connected to a cutting machine. In the figure, 1 is the coolant supplying device, and 2 is the cutting machine connected to the coolant supplying device 1. In this example, four cutting machines indicated by 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 are connected to the coolant supplying device 1 and are supplied with coolant from the coolant supplying device 1.

[0012] Each cutting machine 2 is provided with a coolant tank 3, in which coolant is stored. The coolant stored in the coolant tank 3 is pumped up by a pump (not shown) and discharged toward the cutting area in the workpiece processing section 4. The discharged coolant is collected in the coolant tank 3 via a pipeline (not shown). This coolant needs to be managed at a target concentration determined based on the processing conditions such as the material of the workpiece and the tools used. In this example, the concentration of coolant on the cutting machine 2 side can be adjusted based on the supply of coolant from the coolant supply device 1.

[0013] The coolant tank 3 provided in each cutting machine 2 is provided with a liquid level sensor 31 that measures the liquid level of the coolant and a concentration sensor 32 that measures the coolant concentration. The liquid level sensor 31 and the concentration sensor 32 are connected to a control unit 40 (see FIG. 3) of the coolant supplying device 1, which will be described later. In addition to the liquid level sensor 31 and the concentration sensor 32, the coolant tank 3 can also be provided with a temperature sensor for measuring the liquid temperature, a pH sensor, a contamination check sensor, and the like. The coolant tank 3 is also provided with a discharge pipe 34 and a discharge valve 35 for discharging the coolant therein to the outside.

[0014] The coolant supply device 1 supplies coolant to the cutting machine 2 so that the coolant on the cutting machine 2 side approaches a predetermined target concentration, and is equipped with a mixing section 10, a high concentration coolant tank 12, a low concentration coolant tank 14, a first supply pipe 16 connecting these storage tanks 12, 14 to the mixing section 10, a second supply pipe 18 connecting the high concentration coolant tank 12 and each cutting machine 2, a third supply pipe 20 connecting the low concentration coolant tank 14 and each cutting machine 2, and a control section 40 (see Figure 3).

[0015] The coolant supplying device 1 of this example is provided with two types of coolant to be supplied to the cutting machine 2: one with a higher concentration than the target concentration required by the cutting machine 2, and the other with a lower concentration than the target concentration required by the cutting machine 2. Here, the target concentrations of the coolant that can be adopted by each of the cutting machines 2-1 to 2-4 are set to a range of 8 to 12%, the concentration of the high-concentration coolant stored in the high-concentration coolant tank 12 is set to 15%, and the concentration of the low-concentration coolant stored in the low-concentration coolant tank 14 is set to 5%.

[0016] The coolant used in this example is a diluted water-soluble cutting fluid (undiluted). The undiluted cutting fluid (undiluted supply source) and dilution water (water source) are connected to the mixing unit 10, and the coolant mixed to a predetermined concentration is sent to downstream tanks 12 and 14. In detail, the coolant adjusted to a high concentration in the mixing unit 10 is sent to the high concentration coolant tank 12 through the first supply pipe 16. The coolant adjusted to a low concentration in the mixing unit 10 is sent to the low concentration coolant tank 14 through the first supply pipe 16.

[0017] 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the high-concentration coolant tank 12 and the low-concentration coolant tank 14. The high-concentration coolant tank 12 includes an agitator 22A for agitating the coolant in the tank, a liquid level sensor 23A for measuring the liquid level of the coolant, a concentration sensor 24A for measuring the coolant concentration, and a liquid feed pump 25A for feeding the coolant in the tank toward the cutting machine 2. The agitator 22A, the liquid level sensor 23A, the concentration sensor 24A, and the liquid feed pump 25A are connected to the control unit 40, and when the liquid level sensor 23A detects a drop in the liquid level caused by the feeding operation of the liquid feed pump 25A in the coolant supply device 1, the coolant adjusted for high concentration by the mixing unit 10 is supplied into the high-concentration coolant tank 12 through the first supply pipe 16 and the solenoid valve 17A.

[0018] Meanwhile, the low-concentration coolant tank 14 is equipped with an agitator 22B for agitating the coolant in the tank, a liquid level sensor 23B for measuring the liquid level of the coolant, a concentration sensor 24B for measuring the coolant concentration, and a liquid feed pump 25B for feeding the coolant in the tank toward the cutting machine 2. The agitator 22B, liquid level sensor 23B, concentration sensor 24B, and liquid feed pump 25B are connected to the control unit 40, and when the liquid level sensor 23B detects a drop in the liquid level accompanying the feeding operation by the liquid feed pump 25B in the coolant supply device 1, the coolant adjusted for low concentration by the mixing unit 10 is supplied into the low-concentration coolant tank 14 through the first supply pipe 16 and the solenoid valve 17B.

[0019] 1, the high-concentration coolant tank 12 and the coolant tanks 3 of each cutting machine 2 are connected by a second supply pipe 18. The second supply pipe 18 is composed of a main pipe 18a and branch pipes 18b branching from the main pipe 18a and corresponding to each cutting machine, and a solenoid valve 19 is provided on the branch pipe 18b. The solenoid valve 19 is connected to the control unit 40, and the high-concentration coolant delivered by the liquid delivery pump 25A is supplied to the coolant tank 3, which is in a connected state, by opening the solenoid valve 19 on the branch pipe 18b.

[0020] Meanwhile, the low-concentration coolant tank 14 and the coolant tanks 3 of each cutting machine 2 are connected by a third supply pipe 20. The third supply pipe 20 is composed of a main pipe 20a and branch pipes 20b branching from the main pipe 20a and corresponding to each cutting machine, and a solenoid valve 21 is provided on the branch pipe 20b. The solenoid valve 21 is connected to the control unit 40, and the low-concentration coolant delivered by the liquid delivery pump 25B is supplied to the coolant tank 3, which is in a connected state, by opening the solenoid valve 21 on the branch pipe 20b.

[0021] Next, Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the electrical system of the coolant supplying device 1. As shown in the figure, a control unit 40 consisting of a microcomputer receives measurement signals from various sensors as well as input from a setting means provided in an operation unit 42, and the control unit 40 stores a target concentration of coolant for each cutting machine 2. The control unit 40 controls the supply of high concentration coolant and / or low concentration coolant to the coolant tank 3 so that the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 for each cutting machine 2 measured by the concentration sensor 32 approaches the target concentration. That is, in the coolant supplying device 1 of this example, the concentration sensor 32 that measures the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3, the control unit 40, the liquid feed pumps 25A and 25B that send coolant toward the coolant tank 3, and the solenoid valves 19 and 21 that switch the communication / blocking state of the supply path correspond to the supply control means in the present invention. In addition, although Figure 3 shows one each of liquid level sensor 31, concentration sensor 32, solenoid valves 19, 21 and discharge valve 35, in reality, the control unit 40 is connected to a number of liquid level sensors 31, concentration sensors 32, solenoid valves 19, 21 and discharge valves 35 corresponding to the number of cutting machines 2 connected to the coolant supply device 1.

[0022] Next, the coolant supplying operation in the coolant supplying device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in the figure, in this example, it is first determined whether the coolant concentration (measured concentration) in the coolant tank 3 is the target concentration (step S001), and if the measured concentration is the target concentration, it is determined in step S002 whether the coolant level in the coolant tank 3 has dropped. If there is no drop in the level, the process returns to step S001, whereas if there is a drop in the level, in step S004, both high concentration coolant and low concentration coolant are supplied at a predetermined ratio so that the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 is maintained (so that it becomes the target concentration) and so that the level of the coolant in the coolant tank 3 rises to a reference position taking into account the amount of drop. These steps S001 to S004 are executed when the coolant concentration is already at the target concentration even though the coolant level has dropped. For example, when the measured concentration is 10%, which is the same as the target concentration, 15% high concentration coolant and 5% low concentration coolant are supplied to maintain the concentration.

[0023] If it is determined in step S001 that the coolant concentration (measured concentration) in the coolant tank 3 is not the target concentration, the control unit 40 calculates the amount of high concentration coolant and / or low concentration coolant to be supplied in an amount equivalent to the drop in the liquid level in order to make the coolant concentration in the tank 3 the target concentration. Furthermore, if the target concentration cannot be reached by supplying an amount equivalent to the drop in the liquid level, the control unit 40 calculates the amount of coolant to be discharged from the coolant tank 3 to the outside (required discharge amount) prior to supplying the coolant. Here, the required discharge amount is the discharge amount when the target concentration is achieved when high concentration coolant (or low concentration coolant) equivalent to the amount of drop in the liquid level plus the discharge amount is supplied.

[0024] Then, if it is not necessary to discharge the coolant in order to adjust the concentration (step S006), in step S012, either the high concentration coolant or the low concentration coolant, or both the high concentration coolant and the low concentration coolant, are supplied so that the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 becomes the target concentration and the liquid level of the coolant in the coolant tank 3 rises to a reference position taking into account the amount of decrease. In this way, the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 is adjusted.

[0025] On the other hand, if it is necessary to drain the coolant from the coolant tank 3 to adjust the concentration (step S006), only the required amount of coolant is drained from the coolant tank 3 (step S007), and then high-concentration coolant or low-concentration coolant is supplied into the coolant tank 3 so that the coolant level in the coolant tank 3 rises to the reference position, taking into account the amount of coolant level drop and the amount of coolant drained (step S008). These steps S006 to S008 are steps that are executed when the amount of coolant in the coolant tank 3 is sufficient but the concentration of the coolant in the coolant tank 3 is to be changed, etc. For example, when the measured concentration is 12% and the target concentration is changed from 12% to 8%, a predetermined amount of coolant in the coolant tank 3 is discharged and then 5% low-concentration coolant is supplied, thereby adjusting the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3.

[0026] The coolant supplying operation for the cutting machines has been described above, and this coolant supplying operation is carried out sequentially for the four cutting machines 2-1 to 2-4 connected to the coolant supplying device 1.

[0027] The flow of the coolant supply operation is not limited to the example in Fig. 4 and can be changed as appropriate. For example, when it is desired to refresh the coolant in the coolant tank 3, it is possible to drain a predetermined amount of coolant from the coolant tank 3 prior to steps S004 and S012 as shown in Fig. 5 (see steps S003 and S011). In that case, in steps S004 and S012, the coolant is supplied into the tank 3 taking into consideration the amount of coolant level drop and the amount of coolant discharged in the tank 3.

[0028] Furthermore, FIG. 6 shows a flow of a coolant supply operation different from those in FIGS. In the example of FIG. 6, first it is determined whether the coolant level in the coolant tank 3 has dropped (step S101), and if there is no drop in the level, it is determined in step S102 whether the coolant concentration (measured concentration) in the coolant tank 3 is the target concentration. If it is the target concentration, the process returns to step S101. On the other hand, if it is determined that the coolant concentration (measured concentration) is not the target concentration, the control unit 40 calculates the amount of coolant required to be discharged from the coolant tank 3 and the amount of high concentration coolant or low concentration coolant to be supplied to the coolant tank 3, as in the example of Figure 4, in order to make the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 the target concentration. Then, the coolant in the coolant tank 3 is discharged by the required amount (step S103), and then high-concentration coolant or low-concentration coolant is supplied into the coolant tank 3 so that the liquid level of the coolant in the coolant tank 3 rises to a reference position, taking into account the amount of coolant discharged (step S104).

[0029] If it is determined in step S101 that the coolant level has dropped, the control unit 40 calculates the amount of high-concentration coolant and / or low-concentration coolant to be supplied in an amount equivalent to the drop in the liquid level in order to bring the coolant concentration in the tank 3 to the target concentration. If the target concentration cannot be reached by supplying only the amount equivalent to the drop in the liquid level, the control unit 40 calculates the amount of coolant to be discharged from the coolant tank 3 to the outside (required discharge amount) prior to supplying the coolant.

[0030] Then, if it is not necessary to discharge the coolant in order to adjust the concentration (step S106), in step S112, either the high concentration coolant or the low concentration coolant, or both the high concentration coolant and the low concentration coolant, are supplied so that the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 becomes the target concentration and the liquid level of the coolant in the coolant tank 3 rises to a reference position taking into account the amount of decrease in the liquid level. In this way, the coolant concentration in the coolant tank 3 is adjusted. Incidentally, when it is desired to refresh the coolant in the coolant tank 3, it is also possible to drain a predetermined amount of the coolant in the coolant tank 3 prior to the above step S112 (see, for example, step S011 in FIG. 5).

[0031] On the other hand, if it is necessary to drain the coolant in the coolant tank 3 to adjust the concentration (step S106), only the required amount of coolant is drained from the coolant tank 3 (step S107), and then high-concentration coolant or low-concentration coolant is supplied into the coolant tank 3 so that the coolant level in the coolant tank 3 rises to the reference position, taking into account the amount of coolant level drop and the amount of coolant drained (step S108).

[0032] As described above, according to the coolant supplying device 1 of this embodiment, two types of coolant with different concentrations, specifically, a high concentration coolant with a higher concentration than the target concentration required by the cutting machine 2 and a low concentration coolant with a lower concentration than the target concentration, can be supplied to the cutting machine 2. Therefore, even if the concentration of the coolant on the cutting machine 2 side is higher or lower than the target concentration, the coolant on the cutting machine 2 side can be adjusted toward the target concentration by selectively supplying either the high concentration coolant or the low concentration coolant. Furthermore, in the coolant supplying device 1 of this embodiment, the coolant on the cutting machine 2 side can be efficiently adjusted toward the target concentration by supplying both the high concentration coolant and the low concentration coolant at a predetermined ratio.

[0033] In addition, in the coolant supplying device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, even if there are multiple cutting machines to which coolant is to be supplied, the concentration of the coolant for each cutting machine can be adjusted toward the target concentration.

[0034] In addition, the coolant supply device 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a mixing section 10 that prepares high concentration coolant and low concentration coolant from the original cutting fluid and water, and the concentrations of the high concentration coolant and low concentration coolant supplied to the cutting machine 2 can be easily changed depending on the target concentration of the coolant used in the cutting machine 2.

[0035] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, a supply pipe for supplying a high concentration coolant to the cutting machine and a supply pipe for supplying a low concentration coolant to the cutting machine are provided independently, but it is also possible to share a branch pipe portion 18b connected to the cutting machine 2 as shown in FIG. 7. In addition, while the above embodiment uses one type each of high concentration coolant and low concentration coolant, it is also possible to provide two or more high concentration coolant tanks so that a plurality of high concentration coolants with different concentrations can be supplied to the cutting machine, and it is also possible to provide two or more low concentration coolant tanks so that a plurality of low concentration coolants with different concentrations can be supplied to the cutting machine. The present invention can be embodied in various modified forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 Coolant supply device 2, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4 cutting machine 3 Coolant tank 10 Mixing Section 12 High concentration coolant tank 14 Low concentration coolant tank 40 Control section

Claims

1. A device for supplying coolant to a coolant tank of a cutting machine, comprising: a high concentration coolant tank for storing a coolant having a higher concentration than a target concentration of the coolant required by the cutting machine; a low concentration coolant tank that stores a coolant having a lower concentration than the target concentration; a supply control means for controlling the supply of high concentration coolant and / or low concentration coolant to the coolant tank of the cutting machine so that the coolant in the coolant tank of the cutting machine has the target concentration; a mixing unit that prepares the high concentration coolant and the low concentration coolant from a stock solution of cutting fluid and water; A coolant supply device comprising:

2. 2. The coolant supplying device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of cutting machines to which the coolant is to be supplied are connected.

3. A coolant supply device as described in Claim 2, characterized in that it is provided with a supply pipe connecting the high-concentration coolant tank and each cutting machine, and a supply pipe connecting the low-concentration coolant tank and each cutting machine.

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